By Chris Williams: 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson has signed with Top Rank promoters in a move that will have some boxing fans and writers shaking their heads. It’s definitely a big signing by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, but it’s going to be interesting if he’s going to be matching him against other fighters outside of his stable or sticking him with a lot of in house fights his entire career. Andre Ward will be Stevenson’s co-manager.
The 19-year-old Stevenson fought well in the Rio Olympics until he met his match against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez, who schooled him pretty well. Ramirez is just a super talented fighter, and Stevenson was not in his class.
The money must have been good for Stevenson to sign with Top Rank. It’s now up to the promotional company to prove that they can keep Stevenson for his entire career. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto and Mikey Garcia all started with Top Rank and moved on. I’d hate to see Stevenson’s career wither on the vine with him not getting the fights he needs for him to become a star.
“Top Rank creates superstars, so I’m going with one of the best,” said Stevenson to Yahoo Sports. “Look at what they’ve done. Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto. That’s what I want to do,” said Stevenson.
You can argue that Cotto, Mayweather and De La Hoya would have been stars no matter who promoted them. Let’s be real about that. Those fighters were talented and they would have been great fighters with other promoters guiding their careers. You can’t say that Mayweather, Cotto and De La Hoya only would have been great with just Top Rank.
The Next Generation. It's that simple. #NextUp pic.twitter.com/QW6AwWatwE
— Andre S.O.G. Ward (@andreward) February 10, 2017
In Stevenson’s case, hopefully Top Rank can get him the fights. It would be sad if Stevenson fought his entire career only fighting a small handful of fighters in the Top Rank organizations or fighting endless rematches with the same guys. We’ve seen the Top Rank promoted Manny Pacquiao fight a lot of rematches in his career. It’s better for the boxing fans when a fighter is able to fight a lot of excellent fighters, and not just the fighters within the same promotional company.
“I think this kid will be the next superstar, the next big American superstar, and that’s why so many people were chasing him,” said Arum to Yahoo Sports. “He has the star quality, and the ability to be another Sugar Ray Leonard.”
Stevenson’s career success will depend on which division he ends up fighting in. If Stevenson moves up to welterweight too quickly, he might not have the power to stand up to guys like Keith Thurman or Errol Spence. Those fighters didn’t have the same amateur careers, but they’re very good pros.
You can argue that Spence would beat every fighter that defeated him in the amateur ranks, because he’s progressed. Stevenson is going to need to show that he can put on some muscle and find some punching power, because he’s not a big puncher. He’s more of a combination puncher. He may find success at the lower weights, but if he moves up to 147 too soon, he could find out that they hit too hard in that division.
Stevenson’s weight is only 123lbs. At 19, Stevenson is going to get bigger. Whether he can succeed at the pro level remains to be seen. This is a different sport than the amateur ranks. It’s not about hitting with the front portion of the gloves to score points in the pros.
You’ve got to be able to find some power, and you’ve got to be able to take a certain amount of head shots at the pro level. You’re not going to pitch shutouts and not get hit. Ramirez was able to touch Stevenson up to beat him. That’s not a good sign.